𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐀𝐂 𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐎.•

• we meet again.

To be honest.

Wukong hadn't been in a good condition after the bone demon's loss.

Subsequent to living under her control, he had been experiencing a number of unforetold nightmares that he, himself, couldn't even bare to remember. Anxiety washed over him, tail protectingly parceled around his leg as the nightly breeze of Mt. Huaguo ran through his fur.

"Come on, Sun Wukong. You're the great heavenly sage. You got this. Pull through until you reach the waterfall." The monkey urged himself to continue moving forward, he nudged his thigh to somehow relieve the ache in his leg.

Through his battle against the damned white spirit, the sage fought triumphantly. He was so close to burying the bone demon back into her eternal slumber. But if it weren't for the child that she had used as her host, he wouldn't have been trapped under her spell, controlling him, urging him to do her every distasteful bidding, in the furtherance of her own selfish viewpoint of what destiny should have been.

"I'll erase the memory of you from this world, Sun Wukong."

Wukong's eye twitched as he unconsciously brought a hand over his arm, shuddering as the memory of her still lingered within the days of her defeat, the mental impact of her ghostly malediction continued to torment every nook and cranny of the king's sanity, making it difficult for the ape to partake in any of his daily activities.

"Too bad, we did that before you. Damn ghost." Mocked the king, immediately silencing the voice in his head.

With an exhausted sigh, the said king continued to hobble his way through the forest.

On the way, a crowd of monkeys curiously popped their heads out of the bushes, checking if another visitor from a far land dropped by to visit their heavenly sovereign.

"Hey, guys..." He greeted tiredly. Upon recognition, the baby monkeys ran and gathered around their cherubic monarch. They jumped on his back, some were unhesitatingly picking at his fur, while the others used his body as a playground. The sage had to endure the pain in his body with a quiet grunt. But even if his body refused to go any more further, he continued to saunter through the forest.

"Almost there."

Nearing the river bed, the waterfall came into view. He stopped at the edge of the river, gently scatting the little monkeys off of his body before he could traverse through the river bed to access the barrier.

"Alright. Enough playtime for tonight." The hero carefully hauled a baby monkey off of his head, beaming daintily at its attempt to hold onto his fur, he placed it on the ground with the other baby monkeys. "It's getting awfully late, you guys. Go back to your parents. Your king would like the time to be alone, please." He whispered through closed teeth. The baby monkeys tilted their heads in unison, worriedly cooing at their king's behavior before scrambling through the forest to find their parents, understanding the need of privacy.

"Good night!" He called out.

Once they were out of his sight, the monk stepped inside the river and traveled through the waterway, passing by the boulders that would usually be used as a way to travel through the river bed without getting wet.

Wukong paced through, however, unbothered by the fact that the lower half of his body was completely drenched.

Well, not like he cares. He could always change out of his clothes with the snap of his fingers.

Nearing the falls of Mt. Huaguo, Wukong climbed on top of a familiar giant boulder. He stood directly in front of the barrier, droplets of water sloshed upon colliding with the river, splattering a number of damped dark dots on his clothes. The sage extended an arm towards the barrier and watched as it glimmered with golden magic. The torrent cleaved upon receiving an awaited consent, giving way for its owner to enter its hidden cavern.